We have been busy creating our Artist Trading Cards for Blair and Erin’s exciting kid’s swap.  We decided to take this opportunity to explore a variety of art and artists.  We started by looking at some postcards I had (see Child Sized Masterpieces below) of art by a variety of artists.  The girls were inspired by a few of the pieces and asked if they could do observational drawings of them.  I took out different materials (oil pastels, watercolors & markers) and let the girls choose the medium they wanted to use for each piece of art.  As they were working on each piece, we discussed the artist they were focusing on.  We had some children’s book about artists handy (see below) and pulled them out to explore the style of each artists.

The girls were so excited about the process that we decided to extend the experience by taking a trip into Manhattan to explore MoMA.  Before the trip we checked out the Dropping in on Matisse & Dropping in on Picasso DVDs from the library, because we knew that we would be seeing a lot of their work.  The fact that the girls were familiar with a few artists before the museum visit really enhanced their experience. 

Tip: When their interest started to wane, we gave them both a camera and asked them take pictures of their favorite paintings.  The camera helped to give them both a second wind and gave us more to discuss after our trip.

These shared experiences have given our family a foundation of common vocabulary and understanding of techniques that are used in making and appreciating art.  We look forward to building on this over time as our understanding of art deepens.

For a dose of inspiration visit the Kids Artist Trading Card Swap at Flickr!

Resources & Materials

Artist of the Week by Thrilled by the Thought

Miro Watercolor Painting by Art Projects for Kids

Lessons on Artists by MoMA

Getty Games

Everything Art by Smithsonian Education